Brothargul
Brothargul, known in the past as Dumis (until 1155), is a city and seat of the Dumis family in the islands of the Summersea. Brothargul's estimated population is 831,000 people. The city lies on the coast of Brothargul Island, west of A’ghad and Dorvim. Brothargul is a major point of entry into eastern Toran, as well as being a massive trade center. It is infamous for its illegal trade systems and corrupt officials. History (For ancient history, see Alzant) In 1014, as Eadorian and Dorvimian explorers sought a route to Arus through the Summersea (see Crusade of Feathers), the infamous soldier and guildsman Alan Dumis founded modern-day Brothargul as Dumis (officially Dumis Trade Port). Dumis became the ﬁrst permanent Dorvimian development in the area, although there was certainly a small native population of ﬁshermen and hunter/gatherers. A group of explorers stayed behind and established a community that grew in importance as commerce ship between the North and South increasingly used the island as a port. The original population of the area and immigrants from the Sands brought by the Dorvimians were forced into slavery. In 1040, during the Dorvimian Revolt, some Dorvimians became refugees from the conﬂict and a district was established for them, called Dumisgift. It became known as the Deep as it fell into poverty. In contrast, from the mid 11th century until around 1115 people with any Eadorian or High Dorvimian blood were free to move through Dumis. Modernization During the Dwarven intervention in Dorvim (1121–1126), Dumis served as a temporary stop for Low Dumerian forces until the tyrant Robert Hound established his government-in-exile just outside of central Dumis. After 1142 the city grew with the establishment of the Eadorian Central Trade Commision. Banks, businesses, shipyards, and trading companies appeared, indicating the city's thriving commerce, although in the ﬁrm control of the city's leadership, Alan Dumis’s grandson Edgar. In 1155, Dumis was renamed Brothargul, meaning “money city” in an old Dumerian dialect spoken by Edgar Dumis. In 1173 the city expanded signiﬁcantly thanks to Samuel Dumis’s free-trade policy, functionally creating an entire new business district. Brothargul was the largest Dorvimian-led city by 1188—and as such, it held strategic importance during the Second Dorvimian Revolt in 1189. Arthur Underwood and other revolutionaries struggled for its control, destroying much of the city during battles in 1189 and 1191. Much of the population abandoned the central city between 1190 and 1192 and spread throughout the districts. Sex trade, gambling, and unregulated manufacturing drove the city's recovery until the 1220s, while a series of leaders in the late 12th century like Francis Marbury and Charles Dame ushered in a period of high growth and development predicated on the “New Brothargul” industrialization and development program. A rebuilding program re-established the city center, while the ports were expanded upon and the city walls were fortiﬁed. Brothargul has grown substantially in recent decades due to a large inﬂux of people moving into the city in search of unsavory income. As of 1230 there were more “spice traders” and mercenary companies in Brothargul than anywhere else in Toran. Slums have functionally taken over the city’s west side. Brothargul has gained further notoriety because of violence and its prominence as a major center of slave trafficking. Governmental complicity has become a deﬁning feature of the city in the last ten years, and Brothargul is becoming a haven for all things immoral or illegal.The current year is 1240, and Brothargul is ruled by the administration of Henry Dumis. Climate Due to its location in the warm Summersea, Brothargul has a semiarid climate. Seasons are distinct, with hot summers, cool springs and autumns, and cold winters. Summer average temperature is steadily between 80 and 95 suns. Winters peak at 45 suns and can drop to single digits. Rain falls mainly in summer. Snowfall occurs occasionally (4 times a year) in the wintertime. The warmest day recorded was in the year 1199, at 103 suns. The coldest was in 1136, with a winter day dropping to one sun. Demographics According to the 1235 population census, Brothargul had 831,000 inhabitants. During the last two decades the city has received migrants from Eastern Toran's landmasses, as well as smaller islands in the Summersea. However, the census noted that there has been a mass exodus of people who could afford to leave the city due to the ongoing violence from the city's organized crime groups and corrupt goverment. The article quoted a guildmaster's estimate of over 20,000 abandoned homes, which could roughly be the equivalent of 100,000 people who have left the city due to violence. The same published estimates claimed that about half of the city's privately owned businesses have shut down since 1230. Economy The Brothargul Merchant’s Guild released documents in spring of 1238 stating that Brothargul is absorbing "more new industrial and residential space than any other civilized state.” Henry Dumis’s son William Dumis wrote in his periodical “The River-Reader” that Brothargul would be the richest city in the East by 1250. In Brothargul’s business districts, the famed Brothargul Road is a major manufacturing and business center. It hosts foreign importers and exporters, mercenary companies, textile factories, and masons. Education According to the latest estimates, the literacy rate in Brothargul is far above the average for many other civilized states, likely due to the lack of agricultural work done in the city: 45% of people above 15 years old are able to read and write. Brothargul has three public and two private universities. The Institution of Modern Learning, founded in 1145, became the first public institution of higher education in the city. By 1158, there was a strong public drive for a larger, more inclusive school to study business and trade. In 1160, the Brothargul College of Business and Trade was established, and it took on an incredible amount of students; an estimated 8,000, who were largely studying various manufacturing procedures and business methods. The first academic college, the Brothargul Writing School, was founded in 1205 and appealed to those interested in literature and history. The second was founded in 1236 and was named Dumis Academy. It was built to provide state-funded education to aspiring businessmen. It is very small, taking on only 100-200 students per four-year study period. Government The city is governed by a municipal Chancellor and an eighteen seat council. The current Chancellor is Henry Dumis, a member of the Dumis line reaching back to Brothargul’s discoverer, Alan Dumis. Six families are represented on the council, each boasting some affiliation to Brothargul’s history or current prosperity. Crime and safety Escalating turf wars between the rival Barrister and Foulis cartels has led to increasingly brutal violence in the city. This major conflict began in 1229, when the Barristers made a violent attack on a Foulis-controlled fletchery and seized multiple shipments of crossbows and ammunition meant to be shipped to Hinden. There have been countless minor conflicts between smaller criminal groups however, mostly revolving around territorial claims or acquisition of property. In 1227, the Brothargul constable’s office had approximately 200 men dismissed in an effort to clean up corruption within its ranks. Recruitment goals set by the department called for the force to more than double. In 1236, a vigilante group calling itself the Brothargul Citizen’s Watch threatened to take action to attempt to put a stop to perpetrators of violence if the government continued to fail to curb the violence in the city. Government officials expressed concern that such vigilantism would contribute to further instability and violence. In 1237, Brothargul Army General Altross Moreno and the Third Infantry Company took over the fight against the cartels in town. They were removed in 1238, with the general and the majority of his men now in custody and awaiting trial for charges of murder and civil rights violations. In response to the increasing violence in the city, and Moreno’s failure, the army’s presence almost doubled. As of summer 1239 at least 5,000 soldiers were stationed in the city to curtail mostly drug cartel related violence.